New life in Jesus cannot be found through the ascetic self-denial of Gnosticism or the ritual observances of Judaism. Identity is found in our resurrection life, portrayed in Ephesians and affirmed in the Hebrews’ pronouncement that we have been lifted to glory as the sons of God. Theme after theme in these books compares, though each is adapted to the history and to the Gentile or Jew to whom it is addressed. One implication of this is clear. As the church continued to mature, its identification